My family adopted a dog this past autumn, and we soon discovered that she’s a walker.

Big time.

She needs a minimum four miles a day to be settled at the end of the day. Her upper limit for daily mileage? We haven’t found it yet.

The magic of this need is that our family has been out in far more types of weather than ever before. From extreme cold to pouring rain, sleet, and deep unplowed snow. We’re out there, because it’s what she needs.

And overall, we are thrilled with how beautiful it is. Parker Palmer wrote, “The winters will drive you crazy until you learn to get out into them,” and it’s true – getting out into every weather has been a gift our dog has given us. We are thrilled by the fresh air, the sun, the scenery, the exercise. It makes our lives tangibly better.

What’s this have to do with music? Simply this:

Our students are thrilled by music-making. Daily time spent in the pursuit of music makes their lives tangibly better. And the school choir or band, led by a director who demands music-making, is like our dog, getting us out into it every day.

I don’t always want to bundle up, put on my boots, and walk out the door. But I’m almost always glad I did.

Same for music-making. Our students are almost always glad they got the chance.